


Mimesis

by JoAryn



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-21 20:37:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1563242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoAryn/pseuds/JoAryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miral listens to a story from her aunt and uncle.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mimesis

**Author's Note:**

> This is the 3rd of three stories I wrote for cara_mia for the VAMB Secret Drabble exchange. 
> 
> Disclaimer: Paramount and CBS claim the rights to Star Trek in all its forms. I make no money when I borrow the characters for my little stories.

“The worst distance between two people is misunderstanding. That, I can fully attest to,” Papi-Tay started. 

Tante laughed and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “That you certainly can.” She whispered something into his ear that made him grin. She looked up at me with the crooked grin that I knew meant she was in a particularly good mood. “You go ahead with your story and I'll fix us all a snack.”

Papi-Tay and I shared mutual looks of alarm. Tante and the kitchen were like oil and water. “Uh, Kathryn?”

“Relax, I'm just going to get some biscuits and cheese. Even I can't mess those up.” She disappeared into the kitchen with a swish of her skirt.

I was still a bit apprehensive, but Papi-Tay smiled and settled back into his chair. “Now where was I?” Before I could answer, he recollected himself and launched into his story.

“On the day you were born, Little Warrior, Voyager arrived in Federation space after many years of being lost in the Delta quadrant. It was a day I had hoped and dreamed of for almost five years.”

“That's how old I am!” Technically, I was 5 years and 3 months, but that was close enough.

Papi-Tay ruffled my dark hair as his thumb lightly stroked the ridges of my forehead. “Yes, it is, Little Warrior. Anyhow, I had dreamed of that day for so long, I was sure that I knew how it would go. I would walk into your Tante's office and we would celebrate the end of our voyage and the beginning of our relationship.”

“Like a marriage?” 

“Hm, sort of, but people usually date before they get married. I was hoping to take your Tante to a nice dinner in Venice as soon as we landed, but when I went into her office, she was very, very mad at me.”

I had seen Tante angry, once, when I ran into the street after my ball. “Were you scared, Papi-Tay?” I had never once seen him frightened, but Tante was scary when she was mad.

“I was more sad than scared. And I didn't know why she was angry with me. So I went looking for answers. I asked your mom and dad, but they didn't know. I asked your Uncle Harry, and he didn't know either. I even asked Annika, though she was called Seven back then. No one seemed to know why your Tante was so angry.

“I was pretty miserable, because your Tante wasn't speaking to me and because I couldn't even find out why so I could apologize. But life went on and we were all involved in debriefings. I kept trying to talk to your Tante, but she can be very stubborn.” Papi-Tay glanced toward the kitchen, as though he knew what was coming.

“I heard that, Chakotay!” He flashed a grin at me and I smothered my giggles with my hands.

“And it's very well that you are, or we'd never have survived the Delta quadrant,” he called back to her before continuing the story. “Anyhow, one of the things to be settled was whether or not your godfather was an individual. One day, he called me to his office at Starfleet medical. His trial was coming up and he wanted to ask me to speak on his behalf.”

He paused and tugged his ear. I knew that meant he was thinking and I shouldn't disturb him, so I sat quietly at his feet, listening to Tante banging about in the kitchen. 

“I guess I need to give you some background here. A couple weeks before we got home, your Tante and godfather went on a mission together. They were captured, and the aliens held your Tante hostage while your godfather came back to Voyager, pretending to be both of them. In the end, we got your Tante back, but your godfather's program was damaged. While we were fixing him, he told Annika that he loved her. She rejected him and he was so embarrassed about that and disobeying some orders from your Tante, that he didn't leave sickbay for a week. That was why, before that day, I hadn't asked him if he knew why you Tante was angry.”

“But he knew?” I was enraptured by the story. I had a vague memory of Papi-Tay not being very friendly with Uncle Joe when I was younger and I figured I was about to find out why that was.

“Yes, Little Warrior, he did know, though he didn't want to tell me. First he got sort of flustered in that way he has, where he putters about doing all sorts of inconsequential things, trying to look to busy to answer. Finally, he told me that your Tante thought I was seeing Annika.”

“But she's with Lissy!”

“Yes, now, but back then she hadn't even met Lissy yet. But I was confused then as you are now, because I knew that I wasn't dating Annika and I couldn't understand how you Tante could think such a thing.”

“So how did she?”

“It was your Uncle Joe's fault, and we had a big fight about it.”

I may only be a quarter Klingon physically, but Daddy says my temper is all Klingon. “Tell me!”

Tante came back in with the plate of biscuits and cheese just then and gave me one of her 'looks'. “What do we say, Miral?”

“Please?” She nodded and sat down next to Papi-Tay. 

“Go ahead, Chakotay, tell her. She'll never leave you be until you do.” I nodded emphatically.

“Only if you play Joe, love.” Tante sighed but nodded and I clapped in excitement. I loved it when Tante and Papi-Tay reenacted scenes for me.

“What do you mean, she thinks I'm dating Seven!?” 

“It's really quite simple, commander. Since Seven had used your template in her holodeck simulation, I decided that she must find your facial structure more pleasing that my own. Therefore, I grafted your template onto my holomatrix in hopes that it would make me more appealing.”

“You're telling me that you were gallivanting about the ship wearing my face?”

“Of course not! I, well . . .”

“Yes?” 

I could tell that Tante was trying hard not to laugh as Papi-Tay glared at her in mock anger. “I just want to make it clear that I wasn't pretending to be you, I was just using your likeness.”

“And I'm sure you made everyone you encountered immediately aware that you were not me.”

“Well, no. But if anyone had asked, I would have!”

“That's a great comfort, I'm sure.”

“And, well, the captain may have seen me joining Seven for a picnic in the cargo bay.”

“And since she didn't ask, you didn't see fit to mention that you weren't me. Did you bother to tell Seven who she was dating?”

“Yes, that is, I was going to, but then we go home and, well . . .” With that, Tante broke down laughing. “Oh, Chakotay, you should have seen the look on your face when you came to explain it to me.” She kissed him again, this time on the lips, before looking back at me. "After that, he came storming into my office at Starfleet Headquarters. It took me a while to figure out just what he was saying, but once I did, we were able to close the distance."

"And you lived happily every after?"

Papi-Tay pulled Tante into his lap. "We're working on that, Little Warrior. We're working on it."


End file.
